Homestead Act for Russian Far East – Putin supports free land handout

The Russian president has approved the idea to offer large land plots for free to anyone who resettles to the Russian Far East to start a farm or other business.

The initiative was first voiced by the deputy PM and presidential
envoy to the Far East Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, who said
that such a step would “strengthen the tendency of people’s
migration to the Far East,” Interfax reported.

Trutnev told reporters that Putin called the idea right in
principle and noted that similar programs had been successfully
implemented in Siberia historically. Putin urged all responsible
officials to be precise and cautious when detailing the
conditions for land ownership, however.

Trutnev’s initial suggestion was to “create a mechanism for
the free allocation of a 1 hectare (2.5 acres) plot of land to
every resident of the Far East and to anyone who is willing to
come and live in the region so that they could start a private
business in farming, forestry, game hunting or some other
enterprise.”

He added that the agreement could be signed for five years, and
then it should either enter full force if the new landlord
follows the plan, or be declared void if the land is not used. He
also added that corruption in the process of distribution can be
prevented if the land plots are far from big cities with their
well-developed infrastructure and competitive environment.

The scheme has been designed to limit the possible selling of the
land plots to foreign companies and individuals, Trutnev said.
“We will give it a try,” he said. “I think this
measure will prove to be effective.”

The Far East Federal District is a huge territory, uniting nine
federal regions with a total area of over 6 million square
kilometers. Included in the Far East are the gold-rich Magadan
Region and the diamond-mining Sakha-Yakutiya republic, as well as
important seaports and salmon-rich rivers. The district borders
China by land and Japan and Alaska by sea.